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SECURE SYNOPSIS: 29 MARCH 2019

NOTE: Please remember that following ‘answers’ are NOT ‘model answers’. They are NOT synopsis too if we go by definition of the term. What we are providing is content that both meets demand of the question and at the same time gives you extra points in the form of background information.

The question is based on the denudational processes of weathering and mass wasting.

Key demands of the question:

The answer must first elaborate on the concept in detail and write their geomorphic importance.

Directive word

Explain – Clarify the topic by giving a detailed account as to how and why it occurred, or what is the particular context. You must be defining key terms where ever appropriate, and substantiate with relevant associated facts.

Weathering is defined as mechanical disintegration and chemical decomposition of rocks through the actions of various elements of weather and climate. As very little or no motion of materials takes place in weathering, it is an in-situ or on-site process.

Mass wasting or Mass movement is the movement of weathered material down a slope due to gravitational forces. Mass movements are very active over weathered slopes rather than over unweathered slopes. Usual geographic agents like running water, glaciers, wind, waves etc do not have much role to play in mass movements, and it is the gravity, which is the main driving force.

Both are exogenic forces, i.e. they derive their strength from the earth’s exterior or originate within the earth’s atmosphere. Their actions results in wearing down, hence known as land wearing forces.

Body:

Weathering is of two kinds

Chemical Weathering: basic process by which denudation occurs. Extremely slow and gradual decomposition of rocks due to exposure to air and water. Solution, Oxidation and Decomposition by Organic Acids are few processes.

Weathering of rocks and deposits helps in the enrichment and concentrations of certain valuable ores of iron, manganese, aluminium, copper etc.

Weathering helps in soil enrichment.

Without weathering, the concentration of the same valuable material may not be sufficient and economically viable to exploit, process and refine. This is what is called enrichment.

Mass wasting is of two types:

Slow movements:

Soil Creep: It occurs on moderate steep, soil-covered slopes (doesn’t need to be lubricated with water as in solifluction). The movement is extremely slow and imperceptible except through extended observation.

Solifluction: It is the process of slow down slope flowing of soil mass or fine-grained rock debris saturated or lubricated with water. It can be said as a type of creep with lubricated water influences the movement. It mainly occurs in permafrost regions as the layers of ground water are occupied in between permanently frozen soil and rocks.

Rapid movements:

Earthflow: Movement of water-saturated clayey or silty earth materials down low angle terraces or hillsides is called earthflow.

Mudflow: In the absence of vegetation and cover and with heavy rainfall, thick layers of weathered materials get saturated with water and either slow or rapidly flow down along definite channels is called as mudflow.

Debris avalanche: It is more in humid regions with or without vegetation. It occurs in narrow tracks on sleep slopes and is similar to snow avalanche.

Landslides (slumping or sliding): These are very rapid kinds of movement and occur when a large mass of soil or rock falls suddenly. Land-slides usually occur on steep slopes undercut by a river or the sea so that it falls by gravity. Slumping is particularly common where permeable debris or rock layers overlie impermeable strata such as clay. Water sinking through the permeable material is halted by the clay. The damp clay provides a smooth slippery surface over which the upper layers easily slide.

Significance of Mass-wasting:

The topography of the earth’s surface, particularly the morphologies of mountain and valley systems, both on the continents and on the ocean floors.

The character/quality of rivers and streams and groundwater flow.

The forests that cover much of the earth’s sub-aerial surface.

The habitats of natural wildlife that exist on the earth’s surface, including its rivers, lakes, and oceans.

Large amounts of geologic materials enter streams as sediment as a result of this landslide and erosion activity, thus reducing the potability of the water and quality of habitat for fish and wildlife.

Mitigation of Mass-Wasting:

Afforestation

Re-Afforestation

Terracing steps on slopes or, more generally, re-modelling its shape

Slope stabilization

Conclusion:

The interaction of these constructive and destructive forces gives rise to great diversity of present day landforms.

Question is about the concepts of tidal currents and tidal bores and how they are different from each other. One is expected to throw some light upon the importance and utility of tidal bores.

Demand of the question:

This question seeks to examine the concept of Tidal bores, how they differ from regular tidal currents, and their specific uses.

Directive word:

Discuss– This is an all-encompassing directive which mandates us to write in detail about the key demand of the question. we also have to discuss about the related and important aspects of the question in order to bring out a complete picture of the issue in hand.

Structure of the answer:

Introduction

Start with what are tidal currents and their significance in the oceanic ecosystem.

Body

Discuss the following points in detail:

What are tidal bores – body of water that, during exceptionally high sea tides, rushes up some rivers and estuaries near a coast where there is a large tidal range and the incoming tide is confined to a narrow channel.

What causes tidal bores? – natural phenomenon in which an incoming tide creates a wave of water that travels up along a river or a narrow bay causing water to flow against the river’s current.

Where are tidal bores most common? – their range

How are they different from Tidal currents?

Explain the importance of tidal currents.

Conclusion

Conclude with their importance in oceanic ecosystem.

Introduction:

Tidal currents can be defined as the periodic movement of water driven principally, though not necessarily exclusively, by a head difference created by out-of-phase ocean tides at each end of a restriction. Tidal currents occur in conjunction with the rise and fall of the tide.

A tidal bore is a phenomenon in which the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave (or waves) of water that travels up a river or narrow bay against the direction of the river or bay’s current. It occurs along a coast where a river empties into an ocean or sea.

Body:

Tidal bore:

It is a strong tide that pushes up the river, against the current. A tidal bore is a true tidal wave. A tidal bore is a surge.

A surge is a sudden change in depth. When a channel suddenly gets deeper, it experiences a positive surge.

When a channel suddenly gets shallower, it experiences a negative surge. Tidal bores are positive surges.

Two key features of a tidal bore are the intense turbulence and mixing generated during the bore propagation, as well as its rumbling noise.

A tidal bore creates a powerful roar that combines the sounds caused by the turbulence in the bore front and whelps, entrained air bubbles in the bore roller, sediment erosion beneath the bore front and of the banks, scouring of shoals and bars, and impacts on obstacles

Tidal Currents:

The vertical motion of the tides near the shore causes the water to move horizontally, creating currents. When a tidal current moves toward the land and away from the sea, it “floods.” When it moves toward the sea away from the land, it “ebbs.” These tidal currents that ebb and flood in opposite directions are called “rectilinear” or “reversing” currents.

Rectilinear tidal currents, which typically are found in coastal rivers and estuaries, experience a “slack water” period of no velocity as they move from the ebbing to flooding stage, and vice versa.

Tidal currents are the only type of current affected by the interactions of the Earth, sun, and moon. The moon’s force is much greater than that of the sun because it is 389 times closer to the Earth than the sun is.

Tidal currents, just like tides, are affected by the different phases of the moon. When the moon is at full or new phases, tidal current velocities are strong and are called “spring currents.” When the moon is at first or third quarter phases, tidal current velocities are weak and are called “neap currents.”

Importance of Tidal Currents:

Fishing:

Fish may concentrate during ebb tides. Commercial fishermen follow the tides and learn to fish during levels of highest concentration to improve their economic investment and to make more efficient use of their time.

Recycling of Nutrients:

Tides affect other aspects of oceanic life, including the reproductive activities of fish and ocean plants.

Floating plants and animals ride the tidal currents between the breeding areas and deeper waters.

The tides help remove pollutants and circulate nutrients ocean plants and animals need to survive.

Tidal Zone Foods

Crabs, mussels, snails, seaweed and other edible sea life inhabit the tidal zone. Small tide pools may also contain small fish and sea vegetables.

The sea life found in these regions is often harvested for food. Without the regular washing of the tides, these complex and abundant creatures would die and food resources would diminish.

Weather

Tides and tidal currents affect the weather by stirring the ocean waters.

The tides and tidal currents mix arctic water that can’t absorb lots of sunlight with warmer topic water that does.

The stirring produces more predictable and habitable climate conditions and balances temperatures on the planet.

Tidal Energy

Two high tides and two low tides occur during every 24-hour period.

The predictability of the tides, fast movement of water during the inflow and outflow can provide a source of renewable energy to communities living along the coast.

Hydroelectric plants can exploit the water flow in ways similar to those used on rivers.

Conclusion:

Tidal bores are seen in the rivers of Ganga, Krishna, Mahanadi etc. According to Ministry of New and Renewable energy, Total identified potential of Tidal Energy is about 12455 MW, with potential locations identified at Khambat & Kutch regions, and large backwaters, where barrage technology could be used. The Gulf of Kutch region is all set to develop India’s first 50MW tidal energy plant.

Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation .

Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment.

The article highlights the issues revolving around the increased political debates of recently announced agenda of a possible Common Minimum Programme of the Opposition parties for the 2019 general election. The question is thus to examine the significance and issues involved in this context.

Key demand of the question:

The answer must discuss in detail the scenario of urban employment – unemployment in Urban India. Causes and consequences and why and how it has turned into a political tool for parties.

Directive word:

Discuss – This is an all-encompassing directive – you have to debate on paper by going through the details of the issues concerned by examining each one of them. You have to give reasons for both for and against arguments.

Structure of the answer

Introduction:

write a few introductory lines about the current ongoing debates of political parties, brief the context.

Body:

Answers must discuss the following aspects :

Discuss the present scenario of urban employment, quote some facts here to justify the findings using reports such as – Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) report of the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO).

idea of an urban employment programme – pros and cons.

Why we need ways to promote the sustainable development of India’s small and medium towns.

India is in the midst of a massive jobs crisis. The unemployment rate has reached a 45-year high (6.1%) in 2017-18 as per leaked data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) report of the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO). According to the PLFS report, the unemployment problem is especially aggravated in India’s cities and towns. Aside from unemployment, low wages and precarity continue to be widespread. In urban India the majority of the population continues to work in the informal sector.

Body:

Problems associated with Urban Employment in India:

Polarized view:

Both State and Central governments tend to treat towns as “engines of growth” for the economy rather than spaces where thousands toil to make a living.

Programmes such as the Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (1997) that included an urban wage employment component have made way for those focussed on skilling and entrepreneurship.

Undermining of Small and Medium towns:

India’s small and medium towns are particularly ignored in the State’s urban imagination.

National-level urban programmes such as the Smart Cities Mission and the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) only benefit a fraction of them.

Most ULBs are struggling to carry out basic functions because of a lack of financial and human capacity.

Further, with untrammelled urbanisation, they are facing more challenges due to the degradation of urban ecological commons.

Rising Informal Sector:

The huge influx of job seekers has led to a sprawling unorganized sector of unskilled labourers.

Poor pay:

They are paid less than market standards with no social security benefits.

Congested Urban areas:

Migration is mostly concentrated to a few metropolitan cities breaching the carrying capacities of the cities.

This has led to urban sprawl, rise of slums and unhygienic settlements.

Skilling and Apprenticeship is the need of the hour:

Another novel aspect is the creation of a skilling and apprenticeship programme for unemployed youth with higher education who can sign up for a contiguous period of 150 days (five months), at Rs.13,000 a month for five months.

These employed workers can assist with administrative functions in municipal offices, government schools, or public health centres, and for the monitoring, measurement, or evaluation of environmental parameters.

While the first category of work is aimed at providing additional employment opportunities and raising incomes for those in low-wage informal work.

The second category is to provide educated youth experience and skills that they can build-on further.

There is an estimate that such a programme will cost between 1.7-2.7% of GDP per year depending on design, and can provide work opportunities to around 30-50 million workers.

In light of the 74th Amendment, this programme should be administered by the ULB in a participatory manner by involving ward committees.

Bring in much-needed public investment in towns to improve the quality of urban infrastructure and services, restoring urban commons, skilling urban youth and increasing the capacity of ULBs.

ULB should receives funds from the Centre and the State at the beginning of each financial year so that funds are available locally

Urban informal workers with limited formal education can undertake standard public works such as building and maintenance of roads, footpaths and bridges for a guaranteed 100 days in a year, at ₹500 a day.

A new set of “green jobs” which include the creation, restoration/rejuvenation, and maintenance of urban commons such as green spaces and parks, forested or woody areas, degraded or waste land, and water bodies can be created.

A set of jobs that will cater to the “care deficit” in towns by providing child-care as well as care for the elderly and the disabled to the urban working class can be created.

Strong transparency and accountability structures, proactive disclosure of information based on Section 4 of the RTI Act, proactive measures through mandatory periodic social audits, public hearing and reactive measures through a “Right to Timely Grievance Redressal” for workers.

Conclusion:

An urban employment guarantee programme not only improves incomes of workers but also has multiplier effects on the economy. It will boost local demand in small towns, improve public infrastructure and services, spur entrepreneurship, build skills of workers and create a shared sense of public goods. Hence, the time is ripe for an employment guarantee programme in urban India.

Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

The question is about evaluation of the recent government’s National Mineral Policy 2019. The effects of policy on social and environmental aspects.

Key demand of the question:

The answer must discuss at length the key features of the policy, its certain effects upon social and environmental aspects. One is expected to critically analyse these two aspects in detail and give a firm opinion along with suggestions as to what needs to be done.

Directive word:

Discuss – This is an all-encompassing directive – you have to debate on paper by going through the details of the issues concerned by examining each one of them. You have to give reasons for both for and against arguments.

Critically Analyse – When asked to ‘analyse’, we have to look into the topic (content words) in detail, inspect it, investigate it and establish the key facts and issues related to the topic in question. While doing so we should explain why these facts and issues are important and their implications. When ‘critically’ is suffixed or prefixed to a directive, one needs to look at the good and bad of the topic and give a fair judgement.

Structure of the answer:

Introduction:

Narrate a brief background of the context of the question – salient features of the policy.

Body:

In brief discuss –

Key features of National Mineral Policy (NMP) – increase the production of major minerals by 200 per cent in 7 years, massive increase of domestic mineral production and reducing trade deficits in the mineral sector in the next 7 years, business-friendly policy etc.

What do you understand by responsible mining – discuss the social and environment factor.

Issues associated with mining – issues of unscientific mining, poor track records of environmental and social performance, and high instances of illegal activities. The regulatory environment, and capacity and accountability of our authorities.

Impact on social aspect – displacement of tribal pockets, Community concerns, Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement etc.

The Union Cabinet has recently approved the National Mineral Policy 2019. The aim of National Mineral Policy 2019 is to have a more effective, meaningful and implementable policy that brings in further transparency, better regulation and enforcement, balanced social and economic growth as well as sustainable mining practices. It replaces the extant National Mineral Policy 2008. The impetus to review NMP 2008 came about by way of a direction from the Supreme Court vide its judgment in Common Cause v/s Union of India & Others.

Body:

Key features of National Mineral Policy (NMP) 2019 are:

Higher Production:

The latest mineral policy, which pertains to non-coal and non-fuel minerals, says that a major outcome expected from the policy proposals is to “increase the production of major minerals by 200 per cent in 7 years”.

Right of first refusal:

Introduction of Right of First Refusal for reconnaissance permit (RP) or Permanent Licence holders

Private sector participation:

This will give more opportunity to the private sector for participation in mining activities.

The Policy also mentions rationalize reserved areas given to PSUs which have not been used and to put these areas to auction, which will give more opportunity to private sector for participation.

Industry status:

It proposes to grant status of industry to mining activity to boost financing of mining for private sector and for acquisitions of mineral assets in other countries by private sector..

Export Import:

It proposes a Long term import export policy for mineral will help private sector in better planning and stability in business.

Transportation:

It focuses on use of coastal waterways and inland shipping for evacuation and transportation of minerals.

It also encourages dedicated mineral corridors to facilitate the transportation of minerals.

Fund:

The policy also underlines the need to harmonise India’s tax, levy and royalty rates to global benchmarks to draw higher private participation.

It calls for the utilization of the district mineral fund for equitable development of project affected persons and areas.

Regulation:

For regulation of the Minerals sector, E-Governance, IT enabled systems, awareness and information campaigns will be incorporated.

Online public portal with provision for generating triggers at higher level in the event of delay of clearances by the state has been put in place.

Sustainable development:

It introduces the concept of Inter-Generational Equity that deals with the well-being of both the present generation and future generations.

It also proposes to constitute an inter-ministerial body to institutionalize the mechanism for ensuring sustainable development in mining.

Issues with the NMP-2019:

The NMP 2019 misses out on providing necessary guidance on some fundamental things that would have made it a guiding document to ensure environmentally and socially responsible mining.

While the document mentions that mining should be environmentally sustainable and equitable, there remain serious questions on how effective this Policy will be to ensure environmental protection, ecological conservation and protect people’s rights in the mining areas.

With a focus to ramp up mineral production massively, the new Policy is largely guided by the penchant for ‘ease of doing businesses’ and attracting investments.

Creating exclusive mining zones and simplifying clearances:

A key proposal that has been introduced in the NMP is the creation of ‘Exclusive Mining Zones’. These ‘zones’ will come with approved, in-principle clearances to “curtail delay in commencement of mining operations”. In-principle clearance is tied to forest land diversion for non-forestry purposes.

Most major mining activities involve such land diversion, this will help to open up huge tracks of forest land to multiple companies and investors for mining in one go.

The proposal will also create major loopholes in obtaining successive clearances and permits by mining companies who will be part of the exclusive mining zone, and also in compliance of clearance and permit conditions.

Serious concerns arise about the impact of this proposal on forest ecology, wildlife corridors and forest-dependent communities.

Weak on controlling environmental pollution:

Environmental pollution from mining activities is a major problem in most mining areas. This arises from unscientific and rampant mining (and related) activities, poor pollution standards and pollution monitoring, and improper mines management and mine closure practices.

Air, water and soil pollution problems in almost all key mining districts of India have severely affected people’s health and their livelihood. However, the Policy provides little effective guidance to improve this.

There is no specific standard on environmental pollution from mining under our umbrella environmental legislations — the Environment (Protection) Act (1986), the Water Act (1974) and the Air Act (1981).

Among non-coal minerals, pollution standards have only been developed for iron-ore mining under Environment Protection Rules, 2010. Also, baseline pollution monitoring data in most mining areas is nearly non-existent or extremely poor.

Way forward:

Two main pre-conditions for achieving sustainability are good governance and self-regulating mining enterprises which are economically viable, financially profitable and technically efficient.

Proper Environmental Impact Assessment and Social Impact Assessment needs to be carried despite easing the clearances for mining activities.

Scientific techniques of mining needs to be adopted to curb the pollution.

Specific standards on environmental pollution from mining should be brought in for all minerals

Mining operations must be carried out with concerns for the ‘carrying capacity’ of the environment and other infrastructural limitations.

Occupational safety of the mining workers along with protection of the rights of local residents and the biodiversity needs to be taken into account.

Conclusion:

Striking the balance between Development and Environment is a difficult task. A sustainable way of utilizing the resources needs to be adopted. The loopholes in the policy need to be rectified at the earliest to carry on sustainable mining.

Topic : Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources..

The article provides a detailed analysis on the effect of climate change on Human health. During the Second Global Conference on Health & Climate, participants warned that without adequate mitigation and adaptation, climate change poses risks to public health.

Key demand of the question:

The question expects us to first discuss the alarming climate change scenario and its impact on human health, the discussion should center around the importance of mitigation necessary to overcome the issue.

Directive word:

Comment– here we have to express our knowledge and understanding of the issue and form an overall opinion thereupon.

Structure of the answer:

Introduction:

Begin with brief introductory lines on importance of interrelationship between public health and climate change.

Body:

State facts from various report and re-assert the statement in question about alarming issue of climate change and its impact on human health.

Take cues from the article and quote reports.

Then move on to discuss the effectiveness of the global fight against climate change amidst increasing effect on public health.

Discuss the effect and what needs to be done to mitigate the challenge the world is facing in the health paradigm.

Conclusion:

Conclude with importance of immediate attention to mitigate the threats of mounting climate change.

Introduction:

Climate scientists argue that global warming is exacerbating extreme weather events. And natural disasters are often the source of health crises, particularly in fragile settings. Strengthening adaptation is a must in the face of climate change. This includes plans to protect the human health from air pollution, heat waves, floods, droughts and the degradation of water resources. At present, more than 7 million deaths occur worldwide every year due to air pollution.

Body:

Alarming issue of climate change and its impact on human health:

The World Health Organization estimates that climate change is causing tens of thousands of deaths every year.

These deaths arise mainly from epidemics such as cholera, dengue and extreme weather events such as heat waves and floods.

Experts predict that by 2030, climate change will cause an additional 250,000 deaths each year from malaria, diarrhoeal disease, heat stress and undernutrition alone.

Certain groups have higher susceptibility to climate-sensitive health impacts owing to their age (children and elderly), gender (particularly pregnant women), social marginalization (associated in some areas with indigenous populations, poverty or migration status), or other health conditions like HIV. The socioeconomic costs of health problems caused by climate change are considerable.

Many infectious diseases, including water-borne ones, are highly sensitive to climate conditions.

climate change and air pollution share many major common sources (fossil fuel and biomass burning), climate-driven changes in weather patterns and higher carbon dioxide levels could also worsen air quality in many regions of the world.

Elevated CO2 levels in occupied buildings are a well-known indoor air quality concern, with studies reporting associations with declines in cognitive performance and increased risk of sick building syndrome in office workers and schoolchildren.

Climate change lengthens the transmission season and expands the geographical range of many diseases like malaria and dengue.

Climate change will bring new and emerging health issues, including heatwaves and other extreme events. Heat stress can make working conditions unbearable and increase the risk of cardiovascular, respiratory and renal diseases.

Additionally, it is estimated that 5 million people are displaced annually by climate or weather-related disasters, and these figures are expected to increase in the future. Climate-induced human mobility has a socioeconomic cost and can affect mental and physical health.

Malnutrition and undernutrition are highlighted as a concern for a number of developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, which discussed the impacts of climate change on food security, particularly in relation to floods and drought. Climate change threatens food and nutrition security

Strengthening Adaptation measures are the way forward:

Adaptation means anticipating the adverse effects of climate change and taking appropriate action to prevent or minimise the damage they can cause. Mitigation is an intervention to reduce the emissions sources or enhance the sinks of greenhouse gases.

new building codes to adapt future climate change.

Developing drought tolerant crops and setting aside land corridors to help species migrate.

More secure facility locations and infrastructures

Landscape restoration (natural landscape) and reforestation

Flexible and diverse cultivation to be prepared for natural catastrophes

Research and development on possible catastrophes, temperature behavior, etc.

Moving on to more sustainable food production and healthier diets to improve the environment and reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases. One way to do this would be to promote diets rich in fruits and vegetables, including local in-season varieties.

Measures undertaken in India towards combating climate change:

The National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC) is a Central Sector Scheme which was set up in the year 2015-16. The overall aim of NAFCC is to support concrete adaptation activities which mitigate the adverse effects of climate change. The projects related to adaptation in sectors such as agriculture, animal husbandry, water, forestry, tourism etc. are eligible for funding under NAFCC

International Solar Alliance (ISA): ISA was jointly launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the then President of France, Francois Hollande in Paris on the side-lines of CoP 21 in 2015. The vision and mission of the alliance is to provide a dedicated platform for cooperation among solar resource rich countries that lie completely or partial between the Tropics of Capricorn & Cancer.

State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC): State governments have drafted climate strategies aligned with the eight National Missions under the NAPCC. The strategies focus on issues ranging from climate mitigation, energy efficiency, and resource conservation to climate adaptation.

FAME Scheme for E-mobility: Union Government in April 2015 launched Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles (FAME) – India Scheme with an aim to boost sales of eco-friendly vehicles in the country. It is a part of the National Mission for Electric Mobility.

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana: The scheme provides LPG connections to five crore below-poverty-line beneficiaries. The connections are given in the name of women beneficiaries to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels and conventional fuel like cow dung for cooking food, thus reducing air pollution.

UJALA scheme: The scheme was launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January 2015 with a target of replacing 77 crore incandescent lamps with LED bulbs. The usage of LED bulbs will not only result in reducing electricity bills but also help in environment protection.

Swachh Bharat Mission: Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Movement) is a campaign that was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 2, 2014. The campaign seeks to clean the streets, roads and infrastructure of the country’s 4041 statutory cities and towns.

Conclusion:

Unprecedentedly, today, the world population is encountering unfamiliar human-induced changes in the lower and middle atmospheres and world-wide depletion of various other natural systems (e.g. soil fertility, aquifers, ocean fisheries, and biodiversity in general). Adaptation and Mitigation together will help in tackling the health impacts of Climate change.

The Smart Health Facilities Initiative and Smart Hospitals Toolkit is being implemented through the Pan American Health Organization in the Caribbean with the aim of supporting the governments of the selected countries to assess and prioritize vulnerability reduction investments in their health facilities.

Some countries integrate health into their national adaptation plans (NAPs) and programmes. For example, Macedonia and six additional countries are part of an initiative of WHO and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety that brings health into adaptation plans.

There are also a number of training and awareness-raising activities, including the Self-Learning Course on Climate Change and Health, developed by Mexico’s National Institute of Public Health in line with the joint Pan American Health Organization/WHO Strategy and Plan for Action on Climate Change. The training aims at raising awareness and improving knowledge on the health effects of climate change among the general public and other sectors.

Topic : Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment.

Following its hasty shift in monetary policy stance, RBI is in a tight spot currently. It is now looking for a respectable way out, thus the question in this context expects us to evaluate the role of RBI in such a scenario.

Key demand of the question:

Provide for detailed analysis of the current fix RBI is in, discuss in detail the situation of rising inflation vis-à-vis role of RBI and suggest what needs to be done.

Structure of the answer:

Introduction:

Brief upon the recent trends in the RBI policy , highlight the shifts..

Body:

Discuss the following aspects :

Explain in short the causes and consequences of inflation recently in the country.

Discuss the policies adopted by the RBI off late – the unusual move of change in its monetary stance from accommodative to neutral.

Take hints from the article and suggest what should be the ideal role of RBI in such a scenario.

Conclusion:

Conclude with optimism and suggest how the issue is not beyond RBI’s control and can be resolved with suitable steps in the right direction.

Introduction:

RBI’s tight monetary policy has kept real interest rates high, impacting investment flow and job creation. Bridging liquidity gap—bank loans vs bank deposits—is necessary as it would work against RBI’s intention to soften interest rates. RBI is trying to fill the liquidity deficit through all possible liquidity tools, even adding a new one by doing a forex swap auction

Body:

Causes for inflation in India:

Inflation can take place as a result of a rise in aggregate demand or a failure of aggregate supply or both.

Increase in public expenditure: Public expenditure has risen from 18.6% of GDP in 1961 to around 28% in 2012- 13. Around, 40% of the government expenditure in India is on non-developmental activities like defence, law and order, etc.

Deficit financing: Deficit financing means financing of budget deficits either by borrowing from the banks or by printing of more currency. The Government of India has frequently resorted to deficit financing in order to meet its developmental expenditure. The budgetary deficit was ₹ 20,000 crores in the eighth plan, but the actual deficit was around ₹ 33,000 crores. In the ninth, tenth and eleventh plans, the Government decided not to raise money through deficit financing.

Erratic agricultural growth: Agriculture is mainly dependent on monsoons and thus, crop failures have been a regular feature of agriculture. During times of scarcity of food grains, not only do the prices of food articles increase, but also the general price levels.

Inadequate rise in industrial production: There is a huge demand for industrial good due to increase in money supply in the economy but the rise in industrial growth has been inadequate there by raising the prices of industrial products. This has led to cost-push inflation.

Large scale tax evasion and avoidance: Failure of the Government to bring the increasing income of the people within the ambit of taxation.

Inflation causes decrease in the real value of money and other monetary items over time.

Inflation causes uncertainty over future and this may discourage investment and savings.

High inflation may lead to shortages of goods if consumers begin hording out of concern that prices will increase in the future.

To tackle the inflation, there are host of direct and indirect measures. Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) controls the policy rates which indirectly affects the inflation.

Recent Policy adopted by RBI:

Banks are giving out more loans than they are getting deposits; Indians are withdrawing more cash as the nation goes to polls within a fortnight; and the government has tightened its purse strings at the fiscal year-end to meet its target.

The result is a growing deficit of funds within the banking system, which RBI is trying to fill through all possible tools.

RBI added a new one by doing a forex swap auction earlier this week, which released rupee liquidity of ₹34,561 crore.

Forex Swap is the exercise where the dollars with banks will be swapped with rupee by RBI. This is being done in order to increase liquidity and also control the likelihood of rupee appreciation.

Way forward:

Bridging the liquidity gap is necessary as it would work against RBI’s intention to soften interest rates

The central bank needs to keep infusing liquidity if it wants its benign policy to reflect in market rates.

After a rate cut in the previous policy, RBI cannot afford to allow market rates or even bank lending rates to rise.

Conclusion:

RBI’s liquidity management needs a deft touch, even as it uses all of the tools in its arsenal to make liquidity neutral in line with its policy stance.

Topic: Probity in Governance: Concept of public service; Philosophical basis of governance and probity; Information sharing and transparency in government, Right to Information, Codes of Ethics, Codes of Conduct, Citizen’s Charters, Work culture, Quality of service delivery, Utilization of public funds, challenges of corruption.

The question is in the context of codes of conduct and quality of service delivery and their significance in governance.

Key demand of the question:

The answer must discuss in detail the aspects of codes of conduct and quality of service, their essence and how they are centric to the core of Governance.

Structure of the answer:

Introduction:

Briefly discuss what you understand by code of ethics and quality of service delivery.

Body:

Explain the following –

What is code of conduct ? – it is an internal guideline and an external statement of corporate values and commitments.

Quality of service – comparison of expectations with performance. A customer’s expectation of a particular service is determined by factors such as personal needs and past experiences. The expected service and the perceived service sometimes may not be equal, thus leaving a gap.

Discuss their importance in Governance in detail.

Conclusion:

Conclude with importance of these values in public services and Governance in general.

Introduction:

Code of conduct represents the set of enforceable rules that should be followed by a person in an organisation. A Code of Conduct applies the Code of Ethics to a host of relevant situations. A particular rule in the Code of Ethics might state that all employees will obey the law, a Code of Conduct might list several speciﬁc laws relevant to different areas of organizational operations, or industry, that employees need to obey.

Service quality is a comparison of expectations with performance. A customer’s expectation of a particular service is determined by factors such as personal needs and past experiences. The expected service and the perceived service sometimes may not be equal, thus leaving a gap.

Body:

Code of conduct is necessary because:

The Code of Conduct outlines specific behaviours that are required or prohibited as a condition of ongoing employment. Example: It might forbid sexual harassment, racial intimidation or viewing inappropriate or unauthorized content on company computers.

It is used in an attempt to regulate behavior in very different ways.

Code of conduct is a set of guidelines that influence employee’s actions.

Code of Conduct originated from the code of ethics, and it converts the rules into specific guidelines, that must be followed by the members of the organisation.

Code of Conduct is focused on compliance and rules. Example: It would have avoided and punished instances like recent Nirav Modi scam where ethics of the bank employees was under question.

The organization’s desire is to obtain a narrow range of acceptable behaviors from employees